Jay Liebowitz is the Professor of Business Innovation and Industry Transformation and Director of a new AI-EDGE Center in the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, as of August 2024. He has recently served as the inaugural Executive-in-Residence for Public Service at Columbia University’s Data Science Institute. He was previously a Visiting Professor in the Stillman School of Business and the MS-Business Analytics Capstone & Co-Program Director (External Relations) at Seton Hall University. He previously served as the Distinguished Chair of Applied Business and Finance at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Before HU, he was the Orkand Endowed Chair of Management and Technology in the Graduate School at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). He served as a Full Professor in the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University. He was ranked one of the top 10 knowledge management researchers/practitioners out of 11,000 worldwide, and was ranked #2 in KM Strategy worldwide according to the January 2010 Journal of Knowledge Management. At Johns Hopkins University, he was the founding Program Director for the Graduate Certificate in Competitive Intelligence and the Capstone Director of the MS-Information and Telecommunications Systems for Business Program, where he engaged over 30 organizations in industry, government, and not-for-profits in capstone projects. Prior to joining Hopkins, Dr. Liebowitz was the first Knowledge Management Officer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Before NASA, Dr. Liebowitz was the Robert W. Deutsch Distinguished Professor of Information Systems at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Professor of Management Science at George Washington University, and Chair of Artificial Intelligence at the U.S. Army War College. Dr. Liebowitz is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Expert Systems With Applications: An International Journal (published by Elsevier; ranked as a top-tier journal; Thomson Impact Factor from June 2021 is 8.665). He is a Fulbright Scholar, IEEE-USA Federal Communications Commission Executive Fellow, and Computer Educator of the Year (International Association for Computer Information Systems). He has published over 45 books and a myriad of journal articles on knowledge management, analytics, financial literacy, intelligent systems, and IT management. Dr. Liebowitz served as the Editor-in-Chief of Procedia-CS (Elsevier). He is also the Series Book Editor of the Data Analytics Applications book series (Taylor & Francis), as well as the Series Book Editor of the new Digital Transformation: Accelerating Organizational Intelligence book series (World Scientific Publishing). In October 2011, the International Association for Computer Information Systems named the “Jay Liebowitz Outstanding Student Research Award” for the best student research paper at the IACIS Annual Conference. Dr. Liebowitz was the Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Business at Queen’s University for the Summer 2017 and a Fulbright Specialist at Dalarna University in Sweden in May 2019. He is in the Top 2% of the top scientists in the world, according to a 2019 Stanford Study. As of 2021, he is the Visiting Distinguished Professor at the International School for Social and Business Studies in Slovenia. His recent books are: Data Analytics and AI (Taylor & Francis, 2021), The Business of Pandemics: The COVID-19 Story (Taylor & Francis, 2021), A Research Agenda for Knowledge Management and Analytics (Elgar Publishers, 2021), Online Learning Analytics (Taylor & Francis, 2022), Digital Transformation for the University of the Future (World Scientific, 2022), Cryptocurrency Concepts, Technology, and Applications (Taylor & Francis, April 2023), Pivoting Government Through Digital Transformation (Taylor & Francis, 2024), and Developing the Intuitive Executive: Using Analytics and Intuition for Success (Taylor & Francis, 2024). His newest book, Regulating Hate Speech Created by Generative AI, was published by Taylor & Francis in August 2024. He has lectured and consulted worldwide.

Vânia Neto is the EMEA Skilling Lead for Microsoft, overseeing the AI National Skills Initiative (AINSI) across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She coordinates with markets to implement skilling programs and connect AINSI teams for a holistic EMEA perspective, focusing on strategy for scale and impact. From April to July 2024, she served as a Member of the European Parliament for Portugal, an experience she describes as life-changing.
Before this, she was a Training Program Manager in Microsoft’s Worldwide Learning Western Europe Field team, supporting Strategic Enterprise Customers and managing Future Skills Initiative programs for academic customers. From January 2021 to August 2023, she led the Education Skills & Learning strategy for Western Europe, engaging with educational institutions, faculty, educators, and students, and contributing significantly to AI and digital skills initiatives. Since joining Microsoft in 2011 as the Partners in Learning Manager in Portugal, she later became the Education and Philanthropies Lead, managing the Education sales team and corporate social responsibility. She moved to the Western Europe HQ in 2018 as an Education Senior Product Marketing Manager. Vânia holds a Law degree from NOVA School of Law and has worked as a legal advisor and project manager for Central and Local Government entities in Portugal, including a brief term as Deputy Mayor in 2009. She is an advocate for Digital Skills and Girls in ICT, serving as an Advisory Board Member of ALL DIGITAL.org, a pan-European association focused on enhancing digital skills. Additionally, she is an external member of the General Counsel of Instituto Politécnico de Santarém.

Anthony J. Rhem is a renowned expert in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Knowledge Management (KM), Big Data, Information Architecture, and Innovation. Since 1990, he has served as the CEO and Principal Consultant of A.J. Rhem & Associates Inc., providing AI and KM solutions, strategies, governance, and architecture to Fortune 1000 companies, international corporations, government agencies, and venture capitalists. Dr. Rhem actively serves as a board member and advisor for several organizations, including George Mason University’s STEP Collective, Kent University’s KM Advisory Team, and the AI and Ethics Journal by Springer. He also contributes to AI and KM research through the National Science Foundation SBIR Review Panel and advises corporate boards on AI strategy. A recognized speaker and author, Dr. Rhem has published numerous books and articles and has trained professionals across various industries in AI, KM, and strategic management. His academic background includes studies at MIT, Walden University, Dartmouth, Clark Atlanta University, DePaul University, and Purdue University, along with certifications in AI ethics and leadership.

António Bob Santos holds a PhD in Economics from ISCTE-IUL and is currently member of the Board of the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT). Between 2021-2022, António was the Executive Coordinator of the Impulso Programs (Recovery and Resilience Plan) at the Directorate-General of Higher Education. He joined the Board of Directors of ANI – National Innovation Agency, between 2018-2021, as well as the Executive Administration of FITEC – Fund for Innovation, Technology and Circular Economy, also integrated the Economic and Social Council as a Counsellor between 2017-2024. Since 2001, he has collaborated with several governmental structures in Innovation Policy area, having integrated the teams for the design, management and monitoring of PROINOV (Integrated Program to Support Innovation, Prime-Minister Cabinet), the Technological Plan, the Digital Agenda, the Lisbon Strategy, the National Reform Plan (Presidency of the Council of Ministers and Cabinet of the Secretary of State for Energy and Innovation) and the National Program for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (Cabinet of Secretary of State for Entrepreneurship and Innovation). António Bob Santos was a manager of innovation projects at UMIC (Knowledge Society Agency), responsible for the conception of the b-ON, OTIC and Excellence Centers programs, and at CEiiA – Center for Engineering and Product Development, in Smart Cities area. António Bob Santos also has teaching experience at Higher Education Institutions, namely at Master’s degrees level. He is the author of several academic articles in scientific publications and opinion articles in innovation, technology and digital.

Christian Stary is currently a full professor of Business Informatics and heads the Communications Engineering department and the Knowledge Management Competence Center at Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. His research interests include interactive distributed learning support systems that take knowledge-based and organizational development techniques into account. The projects he supervises aim at intelligent design based on the needs of those involved. Process management plays a crucial role in this, alongside the development of methods based on epistemology. His work is visible at various international conferences and workshops on interdisciplinary research in the areas of stakeholder-centered development. He is involved in several international associations, for example as chairman of the International Council on Knowledge Management.

Daniel Gelaw Alemneh is a faculty member at the University of North Texas, and for the past 20 years, he has been actively involved in various professional activities, including membership on the Board of Directors of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) and International Council of Knowledge Management (ICKM). He was a Fulbright Scholar, both at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia (2019-2020) and at the University of Pretoria, South Africa (2021-2022). He published extensively and his research interests include information organization, knowledge management, digital preservation, open access, and scholarly communications.

Göran Roos is one of the founders of modern intellectual capital science and a globally recognised expert in strategy and innovation management. He currently serves as Visiting Professor at Cranfield School of Management and Adjunct Professor at the University of Adelaide’s Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources. With over 300 publications and approximately 19,000 citations, Professor Roos has made significant contributions to intellectual capital, innovation management, and industry policy. His expertise has been sought by organisations in more than 50 countries, and he was named one of the 13 most influential thinkers for the 21st Century by “Direccion y Progreso.” Professor Roos holds an MSc in Engineering Physics from Chalmers University, an MBA from INSEAD, and a PhD from the University of South Australia. He is a fellow of both the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. In 2011, he was invited as “Manufacturing for the Future” Thinker in Residence by the premier of South Australia, and in 2022, he was appointed as South Australia’s first Green Economy Catalyst, reflecting his current focus on digital transformation and environmental sustainability.

Jeff M. Allen is a Regents Professor of Information Science at the University of North Texas and an international authority on organizational wisdom, collaborative intelligence, and evidence-based decision-making. With over three decades of experience in knowledge management, human development, and workforce transformation, he founded the Center for Knowledge Solutions, working in partnership with government agencies, universities, and private sector leaders. He is the author of the book Fostering Wisdom at Work (Routledge, 2023), and editor of works and scientific journals in the areas of technical education, performance management, and organizational innovation. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Performance Improvement Quarterly and Career and Technical Education Research and is also the founding editor of Learning and Performance Quarterly. His current research involves human-AI partnerships, wisdom-driven leadership and organizational culture, with publications in prestigious international outlets. In addition to mentoring new researchers, he serves on editorial boards, scientific committees, and research initiatives that integrate technology, ethics, and organizational learning. His mission is to promote work environments that value applied knowledge, shared wisdom, and transformative decision-making capability, combining science, ethics, and innovation.

Jorge Gomes is a Full Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management at the Lisbon School of Economics and Management (ISEG), University of Lisbon, and a senior researcher at ADVANCE – ISEG Research Unit. He specializes in HRM systems, organisational purpose, change management, and leadership development. With a background that bridges academia and industry, he has worked as a project manager, consultant, motivational speaker, and quality auditor before transitioning into higher education. He has published extensively in journals such as Human Resource Management, Technovation, and the International Journal of Human Resource Management. His research explores employee perceptions of HR practices, organisational resilience and corporate purpose, maturity models, and knowledge sharing, with a focus on practical impact and innovation in complex environments.

Jorge Vasconcelos is the Chairman of NEWES, New Energy Solutions. He’s a member of the board of several energy undertakings and energy funds, as well as of non-profit international scientific and technical organizations, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, an invited professor at the European University Institute and the Vienna University of Economics, and an author of several books, reports and papers. He was the first chairman of the Portuguese energy regulatory authority (1996-2006), the co-founder, first chairman (2000-2005) and honorary member of the Council of European Energy Regulators, the co-founder of the EU-US Regulators Roundtable, the founder of the Florence School of Regulation, and a founding member and honorary president of the European Federation of Energy Law Associations (EFELA). He has a degree in electrical engineering from Porto University and a PhD from Erlangen-Nuremberg University.

Leif Edvinsson is a key pioneering contributor to Intellectual Capital (IC) theory and practice. He was the world’s first Director of IC in 1991. He was responsible for prototyping in 1996 the Skandia Future Center as a Lab for Organisational design. In 1998, he was awarded the Brain Trust “Brain of the Year” award, UK. He is listed in “Who’s Who in the World”, he’s an earlier associate member of the Club of Rome and the co-founder and founding chairman of the New Club of Paris. In 2013, he was awarded the Thought Leader Award by the European Commission, Intel and the Peter Drucker Association. In 2015, he was appointed to the Advisory Board of JIN, the Japan Innovation Network, and, in 2016, to the Advisory Board of Norway Open Innovation Forum. Together with the UN, he was awarded the KM Award 2017, in Geneva Palais des Nations, by km-a.net. He is a regular guest speaker at international events and organisations, including the BBC, CIO, INSEAD, and the American Productivity and Quality Centre.

Luciane Maria Fadel is an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and current coordinator of the Graduate Program in Knowledge Engineering, Management, and Media (PPGEGC) for the 2024–2026 term. Her research centers on human-centered design and user experience in interactive digital media, with a particular focus on digital narratives, meaning-making in learning environments, and the poetics of digital media. She teaches courses in Digital Design and Experience Design. Luciane holds a Ph.D. in Typography and Graphic Communication from the University of Reading (UK) and completed postdoctoral studies in augmented reality at the University of Porto and in digital narratives at Simon Fraser University. She also serves on the advisory board of the Brazilian Society of Information Design (SBDI).

Ludo Pyis is the Founder and president of AREOPA (ex. VP Organizational Development of Hewlett Packard). He started AREOPA in 1987, at that time a management consulting group specialized in Change Management, Intellectual Capital Calculation & accounting and applied Knowledge Management. AREOPA has built in the last decades a strong reputation in the field of Intellectual Capital Accounting, which makes the knowledge economy tangible. Due to very fundamental research in the field of IC accounting, AREOPA became the world leader in the field of IC accounting and is today a reputed “knowledge provider” in IC accounting aspects. Because of this strong commitment to R&D in the field of IC accounting, AREOPA has been involved in many high-level expert groups of the EU. Ludo Pyis is, and has been, a much-demanded guest speaker at IC conferences and a professor in many university programs, all over the world. The AREOPA team (today more than 300 people strong) has been involved in many major IC accounting projects in companies, NGOs, NFP organizations and in setting up “intellectual capital centers” in many countries, in order to create awareness of IC accounting and IC management in order to shape the knowledge economy. It can be said that Ludo Pyis is a visionary in the field of IC accounting and in how to implement it in real economic realities as a driver of innovation in the knowledge economy. Don’t expect conceptual theories, but real practical approaches to shape the difference.

Miguel Pina Martins is the Founder and CEO of Science4you. He holds a degree in Finance from ISCTE and a Master’s in Management from the same institution. From an early age, he was captivated by politics and the possibility of leading his own projects; since he was 18, he has led municipal and district projects and was elected municipal deputy in Seixal at the age of 19. After a brief spell in investment banking, he felt the need to take control of his career and define his own professional path. At 22, he began to lead a project that he could fully control and that embodied the corporate and organizational values he believed in. In 2008, Science4you S.A. was officially founded – a Portuguese company specializing in scientific and educational toys that today is the national leader, the third largest in its sector in the Iberian Peninsula, and present in more than 50 countries. Publicly recognized for his dedication and professionalism, he has been honored with several awards: Empreendedor do Ano 2010 (European Commission); Empreendedor Finicia Jovem 2009 IAPMEI; 1st Prize at the European Enterprise Awards in the category of National Internationalization in 2011; Empreendedor at Prémios Novos 2013; Business Internationalization Awards in 2013 by the British government; Medalha de Mérito Empresarial by Câmara Municipal de Loures in 2014. In 2015, he received the Order of Business Merit from the President of the Republic.

Vítor Hugo Ferreira has received his PhD from Lisbon University (ISEG) in Entrepreneurship & Innovation, focusing on innovation dynamics and regional catching up. He was the Executive Director of Leiria Business School in Portugal until 2020. He is an associate professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria and has been collaborating with some European Business Schools in Finland, Holland, Hungary and France. Since his MSc, which has focused on Portugal Vs China: Strategies, Competences and Innovation, he has been working as a consultant in entrepreneurship and innovation projects for many different companies and Business Associations, where he has also worked as a Business Consultant and taught courses for business owners. He was co-responsible for several important studies such as the comparison of the Portuguese mold industry with the Chinese, the evaluation of the education needs of Leiria’s region and the evaluation of a hydrogen-based industry in South Africa. He is the author of many published scientific works, chair at GBATA (Global Business and Technology Association) and reviewer for many different conferences and journals. He was also coordinator of the MSc in Management Control and co-coordinator of the Master in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He is an invited professor at IBS – ISCTE in Lisbon, Coimbra Business School and Feevale University in Brazil. He is co-founder and Manager of Plan4Sustain. Currently, he is the General Manager at Startup Leiria.